great thread!

1. just when you think you got down an element your coach will find something to correct on it
2. you need a tissue the day you didn't bring some to the rink
3. you'll land a solid jump, do good edges and turns while practicing before and after a lesson, but NOT during a lesson with your coach

The skills you are excited about on Friday are GONE Monday. AND, you don't get them back until the following Friday. =-/

The new skill you did on Friday can NOT be on done for your coach and she thinks your nuts. "I swear, I did it on Friday!" Usually the new skill has to be spotted at practice before you can do it during a lesson. "I saw that!"

The harder you try, the worse things get. Impossible skills, well they seem that way during a lesson, suddenly show up during practice and when your coach isn't around. I have the urge to scream at these moments. Sometimes out of joy and others frusteration.

When you FINALLY think you've accomplished a skill only to hear your coach say, "Well, that was pretty good but let's work on....." =-0 And, the thought crosses your mind to scream.

When something scares the heck out of you AND it makes no sense. No matter what you tell yourself your head has a fit.You know it's stupid, but it doesn't seem to matter. In fact you could kill yourself doing your stupid freak out dance. And, your coach is beginning to think your a nut case. And, you worrry she just might me right!

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

NEVER admit to your coach what you are afraid of or what you think your worst element is. They will MAKE you do it in your PROGRAM.

When my son was sweet sixteen and with a new girlfriend, he fell over and lost the cap off his front tooth , they spent the rest of the session trying to find it!! white on white, impossible, but she did see him again.

Haha! Perfect example! I've seen a few relationships formed because of a fall after a failed attempt at bravado.

Your coach will pick the move that requies the most space or the blindest moves or the hardest thing to do in a crowd... on the day that it is most crowded.
Ha ha, so true.

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August 22, back on the ice!

When you work really hard on something, your coach will respond with a lukewarm, "Yeah, that was better."

No matter how much something improves, your coach will find SOMETHING to correct.

However many runthroughs you do in practice, it's always one fewer than your coach will make you do on lesson.

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

Er - I think you'll find it's now known as NJS, or New Judging System - certainly that's what it's called in this country.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

You will land a jump for the first time at the very end of the day... then you will forget how you did it the next session.

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

Very true! Had it happen to me this week.

You see, I didn't know this, and now when we're working on things I don't like (flip, loop, waltz-loop, waltz-half loop-salchow) there'll be an endless list of "Just one more..."

Sometimes when I'm stubborn I just say 'no' quite simply. I know I shouldn't, but I'm scared!!!

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http://www.yourphotoalbums.co.uk

If you have an exam or something important (non skating) coming up, listen to your coach/mum/friends/yourself even and stop before you injur yourself!!

I didnt and 2 days before my standard grade exams when I was 14 I fell on a double flip/ double toe and broke my write wrist!! (it wasnt even the jump I fell on it was cause I was so tired I gave up and when i landed I twisted my arm round then fell back on to it!!) And not just did it stop me from skating and my exams I had to have the cast on for several weeks including during a dance at school!! Not very attractive as the cast had to go from my shoulder to my finger tips to prevent me twisting it!!

(I am accident prone but that along with knocking out my two front teeth at the age of 11 have to be my worst skating accidents!!)

Belle

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Keep Smiling!

For all us pairs/dancers...

it is ALWAYS the partner's fault...

Ya know, thinking more, I think it's always the MALE partner's fault hehehe.

Oh, and... when you get a new pair of skates, resolving to keep them as clean and unscuffed as possible, it's completely inevitable that partner will SOMEHOW manage to puncture it

And... the day you decide your knees are healed enough for you to forego the dorky kneepads, you fall on them again (hasn't happened... yet though I htink I may have just jinxed myself)

Was that ever in question?

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

If you stress out thiinking why and element is going wrong for 3 months straight, your coach will correct it in 5 minutes.

He'll then teach you something new, and you'll forget it before the 15 minutes are up.

And in 6 days you'll have it perfect.

And then completely lose it on day seventh, and the cyclke repeats.

All this is odd because you can't understand a single word he says.

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The spotted bird flies
Rising through winds of turmoil
I am not regret.

Which brings us to another law:

Your regular coach can tell you day in, day out, week in, week out how to do a certain move but you won't understand a word he/she says. When your regular coach is on holiday and you take a lesson from someone else it suddenly all becomes crystal clear (much to your regular coach's annoyance).

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The best whisper is a click

You get a bruise on a sensitive spot one day, and always happen to fall on it the next.

Oh, so true, so true!!!

Some more laws:
1. If there is a compulsory event at a competition, it will invariably contain the ONE skill you stink at, out of all the myriad possibilities.

Evidence: I don't know how many silver spins competitions have had a scratch-back scratch combo spin (can't center either of these suckers, but I can center any other spin). A compulsory moves or jump event will almost ALWAYS have some sort of sequence with a half loop (grr!). A solo dance event will always include my weakest dance in an entire set (Dutch Waltz at Prelim, Fiesta Tango at Pre-Bronze, and Ten Fox at Bronze so far). And on, and on... (yep, this made me decide not to do the gold MIF event at Peach).

2. If you have two sets of gloves (or whatever), the ones you like best will be lost first (this also applies to sunglasses, pens, etc...you ALWAYS lose the good ones and the crappiest, cheapest ones will be the ones that will be around for YEARS)

3. The day you forget your water bottle is the day your coach decides to do double run-throughs.

4. If there is a judge that you KNOW tends to mark you low, s/he will definitely be on your panel at the next competition.

5. The worst injuries happen from doing the easiest stuff. And at the most inopportune times.

Oh, how true! Luckily my coach doesn't mind too much if that happens, and is always encouraging me to have holiday lessons: "You need all the help you can get!" So rude....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I had a holiday lesson to-day and it was great, basically said everything that the other coach says but broke it down into idiot portions.

I think I subconsiously (think thats how you spell it) try harder with a different person. My regular coach becomes like a comfortable pair of slippers and I probably dont worry so much if I do it wrong.

I'm never sure whether it's encouraging or discouraging when a totally different coach makes exactly the same corrections that your old coach does.....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

You know what I'm like Annabel, sometimes it just doesnt sink in!!

I got a concussion 2 days before a cell bio exam. Funny thing was, I still didn't do too badly, got over class average at least! But it was still a lot lower than my other exams. And she didn't drop it like she said she would.

I hate it when you dont have skating that morning but you wake up anyway, because your bodyclock is programmed that way, ie this morning.

Down here, the whole system is properly known as the NJS, but the points part of it is still the COP. Often, the whole thing is still colloquially known as the COP (just because the following dialogue: "COP" - "What's COP?" - "The Code of Points" is easier to say than: "NJS" - "What's the NJS?" - "The New Judging System"!).